Source: Precyclenyc.comA new kind of grocery store is opening this month in the Big Apple and its owner hopes that it will provide consumers access to local goods while simultaneously cutting down on waste.

Precycle claims to be the first brick-and-mortar store of its kind in the northeast United States. The idea is a marriage of a farmer’s market and supermarket. Typically, at a farmer’s market, one can buy fruits, vegetables, meat and other various items but things like flour, grains and beans would require an additional trip.

Precycle owner Katerina Bogatireva said in an interview with Bushwick Daily that the idea came from a comment her son made one day. He asked how long plastics stay in landfills. With the answer being, typically, hundreds of years, she saw an opportunity to cut down on that.

“I knew then I had to do something,” she told the website.

Consequently, Precycle customers will be encouraged to bring their own bags and containers for bulk items like beans and grains. The containers will be weighed before filling so only the weight of the product is tallied up, she said. For the first few months, Precycle will offer paper bags and sell reusable totes, but will offer no plastic bags whatsoever.

Bogatireva hopes that the store will become part of the community not just by selling local goods but through community outreach. Getting the store from concept to grand opening has already been a community effort, as the idea was backed by nearly 70 people via an IndieGoGo campaign.

Many zero waste stores, both online and physical, have been critiqued for high prices and inaccessibility to people of lower income levels. Bogatireva hopes that is not the case with Precycle. Without the costs of packaging and bags, she hopes to pass those savings on to the customer.

The shop is expected to open later this month in the Bushwick neighborhood in Brooklyn.